East Blue Academy
by aayush534
Summary: An alternate universe. Luffy is the new kid at East Blue Academy, a preppy university that's more than meets the eye. He's met with the challenges of making friends, dealing with bullies, and perhaps even falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.

The raven-haired boy paused in front of the large doors in front of him. He looked down at his change of clothes; he missed his usual red shirt and blue shorts. In their place was a clean white button-up, and a dark blue blazer, matched with a red tie. He wore the clothes loosely, as if he was a runway model. His hand gravitated to the top of his head as he felt the comfort of his straw hat. Sighing, he smiled slightly, at least that wasn't going anywhere.

With that, the boy took a deep breath, and pushed through the large doors into East Blue Academy.

It's never easy being the new kid, no matter where you go. But it's especially difficult if you transfer to a university for your second year. Friends have already been made, relationships had already been formed, lives had already begun.

As the boy got lost in his thoughts, he came across Room 217. He looked down at his schedule, confirming that this was the class. He adjusted his bag over his shoulder, opened the door, and took his first steps inside.

CRASH!

Before he even knew what happened, he was on the ground. Shaking his head, the boy looked up to see a bright flash of orange hair across from him. In a flash he got up and started picking up the books that had fallen, handing them over to whoever managed to fall alongside him. He looked up to see who it was but froze when he was greeted by large hazel eyes that seemed to twinkle when the light hit her face. Long, wavy, orange hair framed her face and fell down to the middle of her back. Her eyes widened as she prepared to apologize.

"Shit, I'm sorry! Are you alright?" Her voice was sweet and genuine.

The boy was frozen for a while before he gathered his senses. With a smile he got up and outstretched his hand to her, holding her books in the other. "Uh, yeah, I'm good, was hoping to meet people anyway."

The girl took his hand and got to her feet, dusting off her skirt and putting on a sweet smile. "Well that's one way huh?"

The boy awkwardly laughed, "haha, yeah." Before he could say anything else the sound of the bell rang throughout the school, marking the beginning of classes. "Uh, here. Your books." He handed the books to the girl.

"Thanks! See ya around!" She jogged off, catching up to a group of girls ahead of her.

 _I didn't even get her name_. The boy thought to himself. He returned his attention to the class and walked over to find a seat. He chose a seat next to the window, just in case he were to daydream, at least he had a view. As students came filing into the room, the boy sat down and made himself comfortable, leaning back and putting his arms behind his head, pushing his hat forward so that it covered his eyes so that he could relax.

"Oi," a voice said.

The boy didn't react. Probably someone else.

"Oi, strawhat."

Now the boy opened his eyes. He pushed his hat back so that he could see the face of the guy talked to him. He was a bigger guy, with slick black hair and a large scar that ran horizontally across his face. "Can I help you?"

The other kid smirked. "As a matter of fact, you can. You're in my seat." The raven-haired boy looked around innocently. He started examining the desk in front of him, and then the chair. He looked underneath the desk, and then on the chair, where he sat. The other kid was getting impatient. "Oi! What do you think you're doing?"

By this time, the rest of the class had gone silent and were all looking at the altercation that was taking place. Low murmurs passed between students as they tried to figure out who this new kid was and why he was basically asking for a beating from the toughest kid at East Blue Academy. The strawhat simply looked up at the angry eyes above him. "Sorry, I was just looking for some kind of nametag...".

The rest of the students elicited a slight gasp in response to what just happened. The bully stayed silent, but a vein was popping out from his forehead. He leaned in close to the raven-haired boy. "I'll teach you some manners, kid. Lunch. See you there." He turned quickly and found another seat on the other end of the classroom. The other students were speechless. The strawhat boy sighed and leaned back in his chair again.

"Hey." A voice was talking to him again. The strawhat looked to the seat to his right. This time, the voice belonged to a green-haired kid. He had three earrings dangling from his ear and a green bandana tied around his arm. The kid motioned towards the bully on the other end of the classroom. "That guy over there that was giving you a hard time? His name's Crocodile."

"Crocodile?"

The green-haired kid nodded. "Yup. Anyone who wants to keep all their bones intact usually just does what he says."

"Why?"

The green-haired kid just shrugged. "Don't know, he kind of asserted himself as the de-facto 'toughest kid in school' every since last year. I usually don't associate myself with things that involve him."

"Why's that?"

"I don't care about it. I came here to learn to be a sword-smith, so that's what I'm gonna do. Arguments or bullies or fights aren't worth my time or effort."

"But what if it involved a friend of yours?"

The green-haired kid was silent for a while before answering in a soft voice. "Friends aren't really worth my time or effort either." He looked down at his desk but then felt movement to his left. He turned to see the raven-haired kid extending his arm to him.

"What's your name?"

The green-haired kid was dumbfounded. "Z-Zoro," he replied.

The raven-haired kid grinned. "Nice to meet you Zoro, my name's Luffy."


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.

"Can anyone tell me the difference between a surveyor and a cartographer?"

The class was silent. The first day and they had already jumped into the material of the course: Cartography 110. The majority of students sat in silence while a few others - anxious to make a good impression on their first day - flipped frantically through their textbooks searching for definitions.

The orange-haired girl sighed and raised her hand in the air.

"Yes, um.."

"Nami," she replied, "and a surveyor is someone who establishes official land, airspace, and water boundaries. A cartographer collects, analyzes, and interprets geographic information based on the data _from_ the surveys."

"Very good, Nami."

Nami rested her chin on her hand. This came naturally to her; ever since she was a young girl she had been drawing maps of family vacations, her different schools, and her house. She looked down and shaded in her map of East Blue Academy lightly. She was almost done, and the first day wasn't even halfway over yet. Her mind wandered to the raven-haired kid she bumped into earlier. Rumors had spread fast about a new kid who had stood up to Crocodile. She thought about how nice his face seemed. _How could someone that nice stand up to Crocodile?_ Nami blinked once. Why was she thinking about his face? Although now that she thought about it, he had a very genuine smile, a smile that didn't have any hidden intentions behind it, unlike most guys who smiled at her. Nami felt her cheeks turn a slight shade of red as she pushed the kid out of her head and returned to her map.

"Oi, Nami," a voice behind her said. "Class is over. What are you doing?"

Nami looked around her. Sure enough, the other kids were leaving the classroom. Had she been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she completely lost track of time? She felt her cheeks turn red again.

"Eh? You're looking a bit red, Nami. Are you okay?"

Nami shook her head and looked up at her blue-haired girlfriend and laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine, Vivi. I _am_ hungry though, let's grab lunch."

Vivi nodded and the two of them walked towards the cafeteria. "So, did you hear? About the new kid?"

Nami rolled her eyes. "Of course I heard, who didn't? News travels fast here."

"Well apparently, I heard from some freshmen that his dad works as a hitman for the FBI. That's why he moves around a lot."

Nami rolled her eyes. Again. "That can't be true."

"And if it is? Maybe that's why he stood up to Crocodile! Because he learned some crazy shit from his dad!"

Nami just sighed and laughed at the thought of it. "Yeah, alright, alright. _Maaaaaybe_."

Vivi grinned, "well, I think he's kind of cute, don't you think?"

Nami hesitated, "huh? I-I..I mean, I guess."

"Yeah! In a mysterious kind of way."

"Vivi, you don't know anything about him. And besides, what happened to your crush on Sanji?"

Vivi pouted. "The chef's son? I still do! But this new kid...he's just _cool_ alright!"

Nami smiled. _Yeah, he is cool_.

The two ladies reached the cafeteria and stood in line for their food. Nami just accompanied her friend since she brought her lunch from home. She just smiled as Sanji gave Vivi two extra helpings of rice with a wink. Vivi blushed and giggled. "Come on, hearteyes, let's go sit down."

They found a table with their other friend, Robin, a dark-haired, tan beauty. Her purple boots lined the length of her long, slender legs and her blouse was unbuttoned like Nami's was, giving everyone around them an ample view of their assets. "Hey!" She greeted them, shutting the book she was reading.

"Robin!" Vivi yelled.

"How was history?" Nami asked.

Robin smiled. "Very interesting, we learned about ancient forms of writing that predate calligraphy."

"That's amaz-"

Nami was cut short by the sound of the cafeteria doors being swung open hard. In the frame stood Crocodile and his gang of followers. They all wore matching leather jackets with crocodiles on the back. He strode in and noticed Nami and her friends sitting down. He smirked. "Hey baby, what's going on?"

Nami looked away in disgust. "I'm not your baby."

"Hey come on now, don't be like that. What happened to the love we used to have?" He laughed while making a thrusting motion with his hips. His followers burst out laughing.

Nami's face twisted into disgust as she clenched her fists. But before she had the chance to do anything, she noticed Crocodile looking at another table. She followed his gaze and saw the same raven-haired boy she bumped into this morning. He was sitting alone, munching on a chicken wing, his straw hat next to him on top of his bag. Crocodile grinned before walking towards him.

"Well, well, well! Looks like the little guy decided to show up after all! I was beginning to think I may have scared him away!" He boasted, to nobody in particular. Luffy didn't even acknowledge him. Crocodile laughed, "what's wrong? You're not talking as much as before!" He was directly in front of Luffy, on the other end of the table now. Again, Luffy didn't even move. Crocodile was beginning to lose his temper. "Look at me, strawhat!" He planted his hands on the table, making it quake under his pressure.

Luffy simply bit off another piece of meat, lifted a finger to signal Crocodile to wait, swallowed, then looked up. "Sorry, my mouth was full," he stated matter-of-factly. Nami's eyes widened.

A few patrons in the cafeteria laughed under their breaths. Crocodile whipped his head back and forth, silencing any laughs. "There's that smart mouth I missed so much," he growled. His gaze fell on another boy entering the cafeteria, one with green hair. Zoro stood in line, waiting for his food. When Sanji lifted a scoop of rice on his plate, a hand suddenly came out of nowhere, knocking the plate to the ground. Zoro looked displeased. Crocodile leaned forward so that his face was just inches away from Zoro. "Oops," he said, almost threateningly.

Zoro simply sighed and walked away, nothing on his plate. Nami followed him as he sat down on a table by himself, reading a book on different types of steel. Crocodile wasn't having it. He walked towards Zoro with his fist clenched. Zoro didn't even see it coming, but before he knew it, he was lying on the ground, rubbing his face. Crocodile grinned, obviously satisfied with his work. "You see!" He exclaimed to the audience. "This is what happens when you give me attitude." His cronies just laughed and patted him on the back. Crocodile grabbed Zoro's bag and threw it hard behind him. He paused when he didn't hear it hit the wall or ground. He turned around to see what hat happened.

Nami gasped.

Luffy stood behind Crocodile, Zoro's bag in his hand. He had caught in when Crocodile threw it behind him. His other hand was in his pocket. Luffy's jacket was on the table, and the white shirt hugged his body, giving Nami a view of his toned body. He was clearly muscular. Nami felt herself not breathing; she had held her breath in anticipation. For a few seconds, nobody did anything. Crocodile just glared at Luffy and Luffy simply calmly looked back, his eyes never wavering. There was a hint of seriousness behind them, Nami noticed.

"I suggest you apologize." Everyone inhaled sharply as the words cooly left Luffy's mouth.

Crocodile narrowed his eyes. "And if I don't?"

"Then I'll make you apologize."

This time everyone in the cafeteria could be heard gasping as Luffy put down Zoro's bag and walked over to him on the floor. Everyone waited to see what he would do. Zoro just laid there, rubbing his cheek. Luffy approached him and looked down, his eyes returning to the genuine, caring ones before. He outstretched his arm towards Zoro. Zoro simply stared at it in disbelief. No kid gave him the light of day. Let alone stand up for him. And now, here was this new kid who, not once, but twice, offered his hand to him in a sign of friendship. He stared at Luffy's arm in front of him, knowing what to do. With a snap, he clasped his arm in Luffy's and hoisted himself up. He was greeted by Luffy's grinning face.

Zoro couldn't help but smile. Something about this kid made people smile.

His happiness was short lived before it was cut off by the sounds of Crocodile laughing. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! How precious! It looks like moss-head made a friend! And it's with strawhat no less! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Luffy sighed before putting his hands in his pockets and returning to his table to finish his meal. He walked calmly, as if nothing even happened.

Crocodile was now furious. Not only had he been made a fool of, but he was disrespected. In _his_ school. This was his turf. And nobody disrespected him on his turf. With a growl, he balled his hand into a fist and started to swing at Luffy's behind.

 _Look out!_ Nami thought. But even before the words formed in her mouth, Luffy ducked and turned to face Crocodile with astonishing speed. Crocodile was already mid-swing; he was not anticipating Luffy's blinding speed. With his arm pulled back tightly, Luffy shot his fist into Crocodile's stomach, making the bully gasp for air as he was knocked to the ground. Crocodile lay gasping for air and coughing as Luffy slowly walked towards him. He knelt down so that Crocodile could see his face. In a low, serious voice he said, "don't ever, hurt my friends."

With that, Luffy got back and walked back to his table, now accompanied by Zoro. The two sat down, with Zoro pulling out his book to read. Crocodile lay on the floor, his followers making sure he was alright.

Nami had her hands covering her mouth. Realizing that it was over, she let them fall and noticed the boy's strawhat near her feet. It somehow must've got blown away during the fight. She delicately picked it up and examined it. It was just a strawhat with a red band across it. She looked up to see where the boy had was to return it but to her surprise, he had left already. She noticed that Zoro hadn't left yet. She quickly got up and walked over to where Zoro was.

"Oi, Nami!" Vivi exclaimed. "Where're you going?"

Nami didn't answer as she sat down across from Zoro. "Zoro...right?"

Zoro looked up at her, a bit surprised that one of the most popular girls at school was addressing him. He nodded. "Mhm."

Nami lifted up the straw hat. "Do you happen to know where that boy went? I want to return his hat."

"He's done for the day, you can probably catch him leaving if you're fast enough." Zoro offered his hand, "if you want, I can just give that to him."

Nami recoiled. "No it's okay! I'll see if he's still around." With that, she got up and went back to her friends, telling them that she was going to return the hat. Vivi looked shocked but Robin just smiled slyly.

 _Why did I want to return his hat so badly?_ Nami thought to herself as she walked the halls of the University. _I don't even know his name_. She tried asking passing students if they'd seen a raven-haired boy walk past anywhere here. Every answer she got was full of admiration. Students described the fight in as much detail as they could to her, as if she wasn't even there, seeing it for herself. She was awestruck by how much they exaggerated. Not getting anywhere, Nami decided to walk to the boy's dorms, hoping that she'd find him there. As she walked past room after room, Nami started to become discouraged. Slumping her shoulders, she simply returned to the cafeteria.

The rest of the day went by painfully slowly for Nami. It didn't compare to the first half at all. All she could hear around her were details about the fight, as students bragged about the events. She smiled to herself whenever they recounted the new kid's bravery. He was so different compared to the rest of the students here, but maybe that was a good thing. East Blue Academy was known for it's reputation. Everyone that attended went on to do great things. As Nami kept pondering about the new kid and his place here, she didn't realize that the first day of school was over.

As she walked back to her dorm, she gripped the straw hat tighter; it was strange, but she didn't want anyone else to have picked it up. Nami opened her door and lay on her bed, still holding the hat in her hands. She flipped it around and tossed it in the air a few times. Each time she held it, she felt a small rush inside of her. Nami smiled as her cheeks turned red, and she fell asleep with that straw hat in her arms.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.

Luffy was perplexed. He had looked everywhere, retraced his steps to the cafeteria even, but his straw hat was nowhere to be found. Everywhere he went, people murmured in his direction, some awestruck and others afraid. Luffy just ignored them and walked up to the large doors that he walked through that morning. He had finished his classes for the day and as much as he wanted to head back home, he needed to find his hat.

Luffy put his hands in his pockets as he thought back to the time his father gave him the hat for his 5th birthday. He came from a relatively poor family, and gifts were hard to come by, even on birthdays. From an early age, he learned the value of treasures - not money or wealth, but a different kind.

 _Remember, Luffy_ , his father's voice echoed in his head, _a treasure is simply something that you wish never to part with. It can be anything from a simple coin to a person_.

Luffy smiled as he looked up at the sky, wondering if his father could see him now. With a deep breath, he went to a small group of students laughing outside the front doors to the building. One student wasn't laughing and was standing a bit away from the group. He had an anatomy textbook open and was studying diagrams. He was covered in hair, so much so that he could've been an animal if he didn't stand on two feet and read textbooks in English.

"Hey, did you happen to see a straw hat anywhere on campus? It has a red band on it."

The students looked at each other and one of them started to answer before he was cut off by Luffy. "Actually, I was talking to him. Luffy pointed to the short, hair student. The group of students fell silent and the kid whose nose was buried in the textbook looked up.

"Me?"

Luffy nodded his head.

The student was a bit surprised but he answered nonetheless. "It's your hat? I saw Nami walk with it over to the girl's dorm earlier."

Luffy raised his eyebrow. "Who's Nami?"

The students almost choked. "Who's Nami? Only one of the most popular girls in our school! You're telling me you don't know about her?"

Luffy just stood there and shook his head.

"I knew you were new but...I thought news travelled fast in this school..." one of the kids said to himself.

"I tend to distance myself from the rumors and drama," Luffy stated.

The students' eyes widened. Almost everybody at this school cared about the goings-on, the gossip, the drama, the news. But here was this new kid who seemed so oblivious to it all. And yet, there was an air of confidence about him, as if he truly meant every word he said. It was refreshing.

"What's your name?" Luffy suddenly asked the hairy student.

The student was taken aback. And he was making friends with him so easily. "Uh, Chopper. You're Luffy right? You beat Crocodile?"

Luffy didn't even acknowledge that last question. Instead, he just grinned and offered his hand to Chopper. "Nice to meet you, Chopper! Yeah, I'm Luffy. Thanks for telling me where to find my hat!" He started walking to the girls dorms but turned back. "Say, do you want to eat lunch with Zoro and me tomorrow?"

Chopper nearly dropped his book in surprise. He was just a nerd who liked medicine. And suddenly, the new kid who took down Crocodile was asking for him to join him at lunch. He stuttered. "Uh...y-y-yeah, sure."

Luffy grinned even wider. "Great, see you tomorrow Chopper!" And with that, the young boy left towards the girls dorm, his hands in his pockets in what became his signature look. Chopper was left with a small smile on his face as he watched the new kid leave.

 _Come to think of it, I don't even know what Nami looks like._ Luffy scratched his head as he wandered the halls of the girls dorm buildings. He looked around at the walls of the buildings; there were pictures lining the walls. They appeared to be from last year. Luffy scanned the pictures, wishing he could have joined the activities they portrayed, from parties to sports and everything in between.

He stopped at one picture in particular. It was of three girls, smiling for the camera at a soccer match. The blue-haired girl looked to be screaming her head off, the dark-haired girl seemed to be smiling with a book in her lap.

And then there was the girl in the middle. She had flaming, orange hair and her shorts showed off her slender legs. She seemed to be laughing, and her eyes were glowing, even in the picture. Her school uniform hugged her perfect figure, showing off her curves. Luffy's heart was beating fast in his chest. That was the girl from this morning, the one he bumped into. He didn't get a good look at her before the bell rang, but how could he forget that bright orange hair?

His straw hat made his way back into his mind as he remembered his reason for coming here. He took a deep breath and turned around, focusing on finding his treasure. He turned the corner to go right but suddenly ended up on the ground for the second time that day. Luffy shook his head and looked up to see who he had bumped into this time.

He stopped breathing as his eyes were met with flaming orange hair. Rich, hazel eyes met his own as he heard a bubbly laugh.

"We really need to stop meeting like this."

Luffy couldn't help but chuckle and stand up, extending his arm to help the girl up for the second time as well. "Well, how else am I going to know your name?"

The girl laughed again, her cheeks turning slightly red at his response. "I guess that's fair. But first, I have something for you."

Luffy looked confused. "For me?" The girl nodded and opened her backpack, pulling out a straw hat with a red band on it. Luffy's eyes beamed. "My hat!" He grabbed his treasure and fitted it on top of his head, grinning from ear to ear. He immediately hugged the girl. "Thank you!"

Caught off guard, she hesitated before returning the hug, laughing the entire time. "You're welcome!"

Luffy let go, still smiling. "So then you're Nami!"

Nami blushed a bit more at the mention of her name from him. She was used to people knowing who she was, but for some reason, it felt different coming from him. "Uh, yeah, how'd you know?"

Luffy explained to her how he had been looking everywhere for his hat, and how he learned that she was seen with his hat.

Nami laughed. "That's hilarious, I was actually looking for you too, in order to return it. Guess we just never ran into each other."

Luffy smiled. "I guess not. When it's not crashing into each other, I'm not sure how else we'd meet up."

Nami laughed awkwardly, placing one hand behind her head. "Yeah...sorry about that again."

Luffy brushed it off. "Nah, don't mention it, no harm done." Luffy extended his arm out, just as he had with Zoro and Chopper. "I'm Luffy by the way."

Nami shook his hand. "I know, your name's been floating around the school for a while now." Her voice turned serious. "Listen, what you did with Crocodile. That was really brave; nobody's done that before."

Luffy was never one to sing his own praises. "I just didn't like that he hurt my friend, Zoro. It was nothing really, I'm sure anybody would have done that if they were in my shoes."

Nami just shook her head sadly. "See, that's where you're wrong. It doesn't matter who it is getting hurt, nobody stood up to Crocodile. He just asserted himself as the toughest guy at school. Seeing you stand up to him, for the sake of someone else even, it was seriously amazing."

"So why doesn't the administration do anything about him?"

Nami sighed. "His father is dean of admissions. He holds a lot of power here, so people just let it slide."

Luffy clenched his fists. "That's fucked up."

Nami nodded in agreement. "Welcome to East Blue Academy," she said sarcastically.

Luffy laughed, his frustration and anger gone. "What a welcome. And what a first day, huh?"

Nami agreed again. "So did you happen to join any clubs on your first day?"

Luffy shook his head. "I want to join the soccer team, but I'm not sure where to sign up for try-outs."

"Go to the activities office tomorrow. That's where everyone can sign up for clubs and sports and stuff. It's only the second day so you shouldn't be too late."

Luffy grinned again. "Sweet, thanks Nami!"

"Yeah, no problem! I'm joining cheer for my second year so I'll be going tomorrow too."

"Oh cool."

"Yup."

Silence filled the space between them as both of them looked around aimlessly, searching for something to start a conversation with. Both of them opened their mouths.

"So-"

They shut their mouths and blinked once. Then burst into laughter.

Nami was the first to regain composure. "So...I guess I'll catch you tomorrow then?"

Luffy put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Yeah, definitely."

Nami blushed a bit once more. "Cool, I'll let you go then."

Luffy nodded. "Uh, yeah, me too. Let you go I mean." He awkwardly laughed again.

"See ya around, Luffy."

"Yeah, see you around. Nami."

Nami turned and walked back to her room. Luffy stood where he was, heart still racing from his conversation.

 _She's so cool_. Luffy adjusted his straw hat and noticed it smelled like perfume. He smiled, liking the way it smelled. He turned and headed back out.

 _He's so cool_. Nami tucked part of her hair behind her ear as she brushed her arms, still tingly from when he hugged her. Smiling, she opened the door to her room.

Luffy opened the door to his studio apartment just on the base of campus. He put his bag down underneath his desk and opened the fridge to grab a water bottle. His apartment wasn't the nicest space ever. They key had to be turned a specific way in order to even get into it, but it served its purpose. There was a bed, light, a kitchen, and a roof. Luffy had lived in worse.

He sat at his desk and pulled out papers from his bag. Day one and he already had homework. Luffy cranked out math problems until he noticed it getting dark outside. With a deep breath, Luffy set down hie pencil, cracked his fingers and put a hand on his grumbling stomach. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch and was starving. He grabbed his wallet and his phone and texted Zoro.

 _Zoro, wanna grab a bite?_

 _Yeah, in the mood for tacos?_

 _I can do tacos, meet you  
in the park in 10._

 _Sounds good, see ya._

Luffy grabbed his straw hat and stepped out into the cool air. He was still in his school uniform and hadn't bothered to change. He shrugged it off; this was a college town anyway. Meeting up with Zoro, the two walked towards town and Zoro showed him what was supposed to be the best taco place for miles. Sitting down, Luffy saw someone out of the corner of his eye.

"Chopper!" He yelled.

Chopper looked up from his textbook at the grinning boy and his green-headed friend. He waved back and joined them, introducing himself to Zoro.

"What're you reading?" Zoro asked him.

Chopper put his bookmark in and shut the book, reading the title on the cover: "Adventures in Anatomy, 3rd Edition."

"Serious stuff; you like reading textbooks for fun?" Zoro pressed.

Chopper felt embarrassed and shuffled in his seat. "Y-yeah..."

Luffy grinned. "That's cool!"

Chopper felt at ease as he continued. "Well, thanks! My dream is to be a really good doctor; that's why I'm studying so much. People usually avoid me because of that - I'm a bit of a nerd..."

Zoro scoffed. "There's worse things to be in life. Better to be passionate about something in life than to live without a purpose. Even if you're here searching for one, it's admirable."

Chopper looked stunned and blushed even more. T-t-thanks guys..." He turned to Zoro. "So what's your purpose?"

Zoro swallowed and took a sip of his water. "Well, my family comes from a very old village. Very old-fashioned. My father is a swordsmith for the village and he taught me how to appreciate the tools and metals in order to follow in his footsteps. So that's what I'm going to do; I'm learning all I can in order to be the best swordsmith, even better than my dad."

Chopper nodded in amazement, and turned towards Luffy. "And you , Luffy?"

Luffy was silent before reaching into his wallet and pulling out a folded picture. He unfolded it carefully and presented it to his friends. It was a flyer from many years ago, from East Blue Academy.

Zoro furrowed his brow as he recognized the flyer. Each year, flyers like that were posted all throughout the school.

"One Piece," Luffy stated simply.

"You know what it is?" Chopper asked.

Luffy shrugged. "Sort of. It's a soccer tournament right? The winner receiving some kind of prize and recognition from the entire school."

"You're not wrong, Luffy." Zoro remarked. "What it is, is a end-of-the-year soccer tournament between the different universities. But...the only thing is, we have no idea what the prize is because East Blue Academy has never won. It's always Grand Line Academy that wins. It's become such a 'tradition' that we don't even get to see if it's a trophy, money, or whatever. All we know is that by winning the One Piece, you'll get the recognition, admiration, and the respect of the other schools. Not to mention the students, but that's obvious."

"I don't care about the prize." Luffy said seriously. "All I want is to make my family, make my school, and make my friends proud. And that's why I'm going to be the best."

Chopper and Zoro were speechless. Never had they heard this reasoning behind wanting to win. It didn't have any selfish undertones, no scheming plots, and no wrong intentions behind it. Here was a kid who was purely doing this because of outside reasons. Of course he wanted to the recognition, of course he wanted the _feeling_ of being the best. But above all that, was the desire to make others happy.

Zoro grinned and Chopper began to wipe away tears. Both of them believed that if anyone had a shot of winning One Piece for East Blue Academy, it was this new kid. With that out of the way, the three friends laughed and continued eating their tacos. The tension in the air had lifted, and all three of them felt more comfortable around each other than they had ever been before.

Throughout their elation, neither of them recognized the group of girls who had just came through the door. The leader of them was wearing knee-high black boots and had on a simple red blouse that tucked into skinny jeans. The buttons were opened, showing off her black bra and ample breasts. Her long, black hair was neatly parted to the side, and in her hand was a very expensive snake-skin purse. She glanced in the direction of the three laughing kids, pausing at the one in the straw hat.

 _So that's Luffy, the boy who caused such a stir on the first day_. She thought to herself. _Mmmm, not bad. Toned, muscled, good features_.

The girl strutted towards the group of men, standing behind Luffy and placing a hand on his shoulder, seductively moving it so that it grazed his cheek and neck. "Luffy, right?" She purred.

Luffy looked at Zoro and Chopper, both of whom were silent and completely taken aback. "Uh...yeah, who are you?"

The girl looked a bit hurt before realizing that he was new. "You can call me Hancock. I'm the most popular girl at East Blue Academy. You know...you've kind of become a celebrity."

Luffy was confused. "I have?"

Hancock giggled. "Yes, you have. And I won't lie, no person that makes themselves known so fast, escapes my sights." She winked at the raven-haired boy before returning to her group of girlfriends, all of whom were giggling and whispering to each other.

"Boa Hancock just flirted with you."

Luffy looked at Zoro. "Huh?"

"Boa. Hancock. Just. Flirted. With. _You_." He repeated.

"So?"

"So? So she's like, the most popular girl at school!" Chopper shouted.

Luffy blinked once. "But I don't like her." Chopper and Zoro looked at each other. "Besides, I already met someone else."

"Who?" Chopped questioned.

"Her name's Nami."

Chopper's and Zoro's mouths both dropped. How did this new kid manage to attract two of the most popular, beautiful, girls in school? Zoro remembered how Nami came up to him in the cafeteria. At the time, he didn't think much of it.

Luffy smiled as he remembered both times they literally crashed into each other. "Well, we kind of...bumped into each other a couple times and she returned my hat when I thought I lost it. We just talked for a while."

Chopper was dumbfounded and Zoro just grinned. Luffy meanwhile was lost in his thoughts again, thinking back to his conversation with the orange-haired beauty.

 _Nami_. He thought. _What a beautiful name._

Back in his apartment, Luffy lay awake, still thinking about Nami. Finally, he decided to go to sleep, the final thought racing in his mind was if Nami was thinking about him also.

Nami lay in her bed. It had certainly been an eventful day. But despite everything that had happened, the most vivid memory in her head was of her conversation with Luffy. He remembered how genuine his smile was and how humble he acted. Her cheeks burned as she smiled before falling asleep.

The last thought that raced through her mind was if Luffy was thinking about her also.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.

A sharp whistle blew through the air as Luffy jogged back to the center of the field. A group of other boys gathered around, forming a clustered circle around an older man with long, silver hair. He wore glasses and was dressed very casually, as if he had never played soccer a day in his life.

"Okay, this is going to be a very simple exercise; run the ball through the cones and shoot at the goal in front of you. Assistant coach Marty will be goalie."

A boy raised his hand, "coach Rayleigh, these cones are way too close together, there's no way anyone can dribble through them and still have enough room to line up a shot."

Rayleigh's eyes narrowed. "Crocodile, you're up first; hopefully you haven't lost your touch since last year."

Crocodile pushed through the group of boys, shoving Luffy with his shoulder before lining up the ball. Almost effortlessly, Crocodile took off, maneuvering through the cones, aggressively sprinting through the cones until he finished the drill and shot the ball towards the goal. The ball flew through the air with astonishing power, landing right in the hands of the assistant coach with a dull thud. Crocodile scoffed and walked back to the group.

Rayleigh set up the few cones that had fallen over or moved. "Well, you still lack the subtlety but I can't deny that you did it. Albeit with some minor...corrections." He walked back to the group of young boys and look down at his clipboard at the list of names that awaited. "We'll start from there. Nick! You're up!"

Nami stretched her arms and wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. Her eyes were fixated on the soccer tryouts happening now that her cheerleading tryouts had finished. She loosened the ribbon in her hair that was keeping her flaming hair in a tight ponytail and sighed. From what she had heard, Rayleigh did this drill every year, and last year, during her freshman year, she had witnessed firsthand how nobody had scored a goal. Crocodile was the only one to come close, and even he knocked over some cones and only made the goalkeeper step back a few steps when he caught the ball.

"Oi, Nami!" Vivi's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Let's get going; we still need to get ready and pick up Robin for the party."

"Just wait up for a few minutes, don't you want to see how the soccer tryouts go?"

"We already know how the tryouts go - we saw them last year and it was the most boring thing ever. Rayleigh does the same thing over and over again."

"Yeah but...what if this year something changes?" Nami asked with Luffy in mind.

Vivi raised an eyebrow. She could sense there was something else behind those words. "You're talking about the strawhat kid, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what it is, but Luffy _just_ came to this school and look - the entire school, you can _feel_ something is changing."

Vivi nodded her head in agreement. "No, you're right, there's just something about him..."

Nami turned her head towards the field. Rayleigh had just called Luffy's name.

Luffy walked up to the start of the cones, his eyes fixated on the goal. He looked down at the ball and then proceeded to sit down. There were murmurs coming from the group behind him but Rayleigh stayed silent, observing Luffy carefully. The raven-haired boy took of his torn and ratty shoes and stood back up, moving the ball around with his bare feet.

Rayleigh's eyes widened slightly. _I see, taking off his shoes must give him some more control over the ball since the cones are so close together. Interesting._ "Alright, Luffy. Last one. Whenever you're ready."

Luffy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. With a snap, his eyes opened and with an incredible burst of speed, Luffy had cleared the cones effortlessly, not even touching a single one. His feet danced with the ball, making it difficult for the fellow boys to try and keep up with their eyes. Luffy's eyes darted to the top right of the goal as he wound up his left leg to shoot. The goalie saw the small movement and shuffled to the side in preparation to catch the ball.

Except he never did.

Luffy kicked the ball forward with his left foot only to wind up his right and shoot the ball in the top left of the goal. There was no time to react; the ball landed in the back of the net with a sharp snap as all the goalie could do was watch. Not wavering, Luffy jogged back to grab his shoes before sitting back down and lacing them up.

The entire group was silent. Rayleigh smiled slightly as he put down his clipboard. "Congratulations, Luffy, on that goal. As for everyone else, you'll find the results of the tryouts in front of the main office by the end of the week. I want to thank each and everyone of you for coming out here this afternoon. Stay tuned!"

And with that, the group of boys dispersed slowly. Some shot Luffy a hateful glance; no longer was he some kind of celebrity. Instead, he may as well have stolen a spot on the soccer team from them. Luffy paid them no attention, however. He walked to the water fountain, took a drink, and started walking towards his place.

"Luffy!" A voice behind him shouted.

He turned around and grinned. "Chopper! What's up?"

"I was watching the tryouts from the bleachers, that was so amazing!"

Luffy scratched the back of his head and laughed. "Aw, it wasn't that great, I probably got lucky."

"No way! There's no way you just got lucky! Luffy, you don't know do you?"

Luffy looked puzzled. "Apparently not, no. What don't I know?"

"Apparently, coach Rayleigh does this drill everywhere he goes, only that one. Nothing else. And nobody from our school has ever scored. Ever."

Luffy was silent for some time before smiling genuinely. "So I guess then we'll find out if I made the team this Friday huh?"

Chopper was dumbstruck. How could he be so calm? So easy-going? He smiled back. "Right! Come on, let's go grab some food, I'm starving. I heard Zoro wants to talk to us too."

Luffy nodded and hiked his bag up his shoulder. "Oh really? What about?"

The two began walking back. "There's a party at Bellamy's place tonight. I don't usually go to parties but...I figured, it's a new year, so why not?"

"And Zoro wants us to go together?"

Chopper nodded.

"Alright, I'm down. I'll head back to my place, get ready and then we can grab some food before heading to the party."

"Sounds good! I'll meet you at your place with Zoro."

Nami lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was dressed in knee high black boots that elongated her slender legs. A silver dress hugged her curves and her hair fell down in beachy waves. Robin sat across from her, applying eye shadow to her tan face, accenting her sexy eyes. Vivi came out of the bathroom, braiding her hair behind her.

"I still can't believe it." Vivi exclaimed. "I mean, I just don't understand it at all! It's like he's some kind of superhuman!"

"Luffy does seam to have in infectious personality." Robin responded, capping her makeup brush.

"More like insane," Vivi said. "Nami and I _both_ saw him! We're only sophomores but it's no secret that nobody has been able to complete Rayleigh's drill here at East Blue. And all of a sudden, some nobody shows up and does it first try." She shook her head. "Noooo I'm not buying it; who is he? Who're his parents? He has to have some kind of secret background-"

"Vivi, you're making the boy look like some kind of special ops, secret service, spy."

"And?"

Robin sighed. "Come on, let's get going. Nami?"

Nami lay on her bed, still absorbed in her own thoughts about the raven-haired boy. _He seems so...interesting. So unique. What is it about him?_

"Nami?" Vivi asked again.

Nami blinked and looked at her two friends. "Yeah?"

Robin smiled and chuckled to herself and Vivi threw her hands up in the air. "Let's go!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's go." Nami pushed the thoughts out of her head as she blushed slightly.

"Soooo...Nami..." Vivi pressed. "You think it'll be awkward at the party?"

"Awkward? Why would it be awkward? Bellamy and I broke up last year, enough time has passed that we've moved on."

"Tell that to Bellamy. Poor guy still posts pictures of you guys online."

"He what?"

"Well, he always captions them with something cheesy, usually something deep or profound or something. But it's obvious that he's just reminding everyone that you two were an item."

"I think he wants your attention, Nami." Robin chimed in.

"Well I don't want his attention!"

"Maybe this party wasn't a good idea-"

"No no, I want to talk to him." Nami interrupted.

"Let's just try and have a good time, yeah?"

"I _intend_ to."

As the three ladies arrived to the large house, they noticed that guests had already arrived. The second floor windows showed dozens of students dancing, drinking, laughing, and having a good time. It was no surprise that Bellamy was rich, but every time they were reminded, they could never hold in a gasp. The house was huge, with a sleek, modern finish that lined the entire outside. Large floor to ceiling windows ran the length of the second floor, and paved cobblestone circled the lot, with orange lights that lit the path.

The trio walked up to the large double doors but before they could knock, the door swung open. A muscled boy stood in the doorway. He had beach blonde hair, a pink polo, and white pants. He grinned and showed off his pearly white teeth. "Robin, Vivi! Nami! So glad you could make it! You all look stunning, by the way." He hugged each of them.

"Thanks for the invite, Bellamy." Robin replied cooly.

"Come in, come in." he came in close so that he could be heard over the loud music. Bellamy gave them a tour of his house. "So yeah, parents are away on business so I got the place to myself, what'd'ya think? Pretty sweet huh?" He gestured all around him to the guests and the house. "Uh food and drinks are in the living room, Franky is on DJ - what's up Franky! Pool is out back, people are dancing is in the main hall, and uh...yeah, go nuts." He grinned again. "Can I get you ladies anything to drink to start off?"

"Yeah, sure, let me get a gin and tonic." Vivi replied.

"Great, great, bar's over there." He simply pointed absentmindedly towards a fully stocked bar. Vivi rolled her eyes at Bellamy's fake kindness but perked up when she saw Sanji at the bar.

"I'll see you girls on the dance floor." Vivi winked before strutting towards Sanji and the bar. Robin and Nami laughed.

"How about you two?" Bellamy asked, looking at Nami specifically.

"I think we know where the bar is at, thank you." Nami said, without missing a beat. "If you'll excuse us, I want to dance a little bit. Robin? Care to join?"

Robin smiled. "Why, yes, I would."

Nami and Robin slowly walked to the dance floor. Dozens of pairs of eyes were on them, and the two girls knew that very well. Boys stared in awe and girls threw side glances in envy and jealousy. As Nami and Robin began to dance seductively to the music, the stares grew in number. Vivi came running with Sanji in tow, a drink in one of her hands. Downing the drink in one go, her and Sanji began dancing together, clearly infatuated with each other.

As the night went on, people arrived and flowed about like champagne; people were laughing, flirting, kissing, and heading upstairs for a bit of privacy. Nami sat on the couch with Vivi as Robin chatted with a few other guests across the room. Both tried their best to avoid eye contact with the dozens of boys all dreaming of taking Nami or Vivi upstairs for a night to remember. One of those boys was Bellamy himself, however, and Nami sighed as he began walking in her direction.

"Nami, can I talk to you for a second?"

Nami shrugged. "Sure."

Vivi's eyes showed concern but Nami reassured her by telling her to have fun with Sanji.

Bellamy led Nami through the house to a private study and closed the door behind them. He opened a jar of mints on a desk and popped one into his mouth, closing the jar, not offering Nami anything.

"What do you want to talk about, Bellamy?" Nami asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Well...I've been thinking...about us that is...come on, Nami. Let's give us one more shot, yeah?"

"I'd rather not." Nami said bluntly, looking over the books on the shelves.

"What? W-why not?" Bellamy spattered.

"You _know_ why, Bellamy. Listen, this was last year, we were both young and dumb."

"Yeah okay I get that but here me out, here me out. I've changed! I have! Listen, I've been-"

"Bellamy!" Nami curtly interrupted him. Bellamy fell silent. "You're just...not my type! You never even paid any attention to me last year when we were together! And now, all of a sudden, when you can't have me, you suddenly 'change'? Get over yourself, jerk."

Bellamy felt his temper rising. He balled his hands into fists. "Nami, you're one of the most popular girls at school. Just think about it...you and me...cheerleader, popular, going out with me, football star, most popular guy at school..."

"Really? _That's_ why you want to get together? Because I'm _popular_? You want me for the school cred? Unbelievable. You're a real piece of work, you know that, asshole?" Nami started walking towards the door but Bellamy closed the distance and held the door shut. "Open the door. I want to leave."

"Come on...just one kiss, at least give me that." Bellamy leaned in close, threateningly. "I know you want it."

"You're delusional."

"Just one...nobody has to know. Come on, give me something-" Bellamy stopped dead in his tracks as he felt a sharp sting come into contact with his face. Nami had slapped him.

"Let. Me. Out."

Bellamy was furious now, as his hand raised and came down onto Nami's own face. Nami cried out in pain as she stepped back a few steps from the force of the blow. She tried to gather herself but felt two strong hands grip her arms and push her against the door hard. He forcibly pushed his lips onto hers and started feeling her body, shoving his hands underneath her dress as Nami desperately tried to push him away.

Bellamy kept going further and further as he grabbed Nami's ass with one hand and attempted to take off her dress with the other. She writhed and twisted, doing everything she could to get away, but Bellamy was too strong. As he began to almost tear her dress off, there was loud knocking on the door behind Nami.

"Yo Bellamy! You should probably come out and check this out man." A voice yelled from the other side.

That was enough to give Nami the opportunity to break free of his hold and back away, her eyes filled with fear. "You're disgusting," she spat.

Bellamy simply looked at her hungrily, panting from the excitement. He opened the door to see another guest, one of Bellamy's football friends, standing there. He looked inside the room and saw Nami standing on the other end, her hair a mess and clearly disheveled. He didn't comment on it, even though it was clear what had happened in that room.

"What?" Bellamy asked, fixing his pink polo.

"That new kid? The one with the straw hat? He's here. Seems like he showed up uninvited. He's got two of his friends with him."

Bellamy grinned and adjusted his hair. "Well, let's go greet our new guests." He looked at Nami once before before heading out. "Enjoy the party," he said with a wink.

Luffy looked around at the house filled with people. Never had he been to a party this scale before. In fact, this would be his very first _party_ ever. Chopper looked around a little nervously, clearly not used to this kind of environment. A blonde-haired man walked up to them. He had curly eyebrows and was sucking on a lollipop, the stick hanging out of his mouth. On his arm was a beautiful blue-haired girl, beaming with excitement and happiness.

"You're Luffy!" She exclaimed.

Luffy was used to people knowing his name by now. While he didn't care much for the individual attention, he couldn't deny that the things he had done certainly spread around the school fast. "Yup, and this is Chopper and Zoro."

"Yo." Zoro greeted them.

"H-Hi." Chopper sputtered.

The blue-haired girl extended her hand. "My name's Vivi! And this is Sanji."

The blonde-haired man extended his hand as well. "What's up guys? Heard a lot about you, Luffy."

Luffy laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head, making the straw hat on top shake. "I guess guilty as charged, huh?"

Sanji laughed and noticed that Chopper was a bit nervous. "First party?"

Chopper nodded. "Yeah...this isn't really my thing."

Sanji laughed. "You get used to it, don't worry. Here, how 'bout I fix you guys up some drinks? You might have seen my working behind the counter at school, but I can do pretty well as a bartender too, not to brag."

Zoro grinned. "Yeah, why not? You got sake?"

"You best believe we got sake! Come on, follow me."

Zoro, Chopper, and Sanji walked to the bar, chatting and getting to each other. But before Luffy could catch up, a voice called his name.

"Luffy!"

The strawhat turned his head to see who it was. Walking towards him was a muscular guy who looked like he was the poster boy for a frat kid. A pink polo covered his chest and white pants covered his legs. A pair of sunglasses hung on his shirt, even though it was 10 PM and he was indoors.

"Uh, yeah, that's me."

The frat kid placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder and extended his other hand. "Bellamy."

"Nice to meet you, Bellamy. Cool party."

Bellamy shook Luffy's hand. "Thank you, thank you. And believe me, the pleasure is all mine. You know, I've heard a lot about you."

Luffy chuckled. "So people keep telling me."

"Tell me, how did it feel to best Crocodile?"

"Uh, how'd it feel?"

"Mhm."

"Um, I don't know, look can we move on?"

"Of course, of course, how rude of me. I'm sure you know who I am."

"Nope."

Bellamy's eyebrow twitched. "Football star? Most popular guy at school? Don't mean to rub it in or anything but...kind of rich?"

Luffy looked around at the extravagant house. "And you live with your parents."

Some snickers could be heard amongst the music and partying guests. Those that had come to watch the exchange between Bellamy and the new celebrity were a little taken aback by his comments.

Bellamy's lips curled slightly. "I like to take care of them as much as they do me."

Luffy shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Mind if I take your hat? It'll just be in that closet over there."

Luffy placed a hand on his straw hat. "Actually, I think I'll hold on to it, thanks though."

Bellamy smiled slowly and extended his hand to the rest of the house. "Then let me give you a tour."

Luffy just nodded before following Bellamy into the sea of people bathed in strobe lights. As he slowly began taking his steps, he caught a flash of orange out of the corner of his eye. Turning to see what his mind hoped it was, he was greeted with the flaming haired beauty.

But something was off.

Her face lacked the usual sparkle and her eyes didn't shine like he saw them before. She still looked unbelievably gorgeous but the way she carried herself seemed unsure about who she was, or even why she was here. The two locked eyes for merely a fraction of a second before a crowd of people came between them. Luffy desperately tried to move through them to reach Nami but it was no use, the guests had reached the level of intoxication that meant nothing could faze them. With a sigh, Luffy turned his attention back to Bellamy who was still walking slowly to the main hall, where a massive group of people were dancing.

"Uh, hey listen...Bellamy, I think I'm going to head over to the bar, get something to drink."

Bellamy looked a bit confused at first but quickly retained his cool composure. "Sure thing, bar's down the hall, that way."

"Thanks." Luffy headed towards the bar, scanning left and right to see if he could spot Nami. He found Zoro and Chopper laughing with Sanji and Vivi at the bar. "Hey! Guys, did you happen to see Nami?"

The boys shook their heads. Zoro opened his mouth, his words a little slurred. "Mmmm weren't you hanging out with Bellamy?"

Vivi suddenly spoke up. "Wait, you mean Bellamy was with you? And Nami wasn't with him?"

Luffy shook his head slowly and narrowed his eyes. "No...should she have been?"

Vivi'e eyes grew solemn and concerned. "Her and Bellamy went to talk with each other...she told me not to worry about it..."

Luffy already turned around and started walking through the house to find Nami. Maneuvering through the sea of dancing and grinding, Luffy eventually came upon the large backyard. In the middle was a rectangular swimming pool with a waterfall in the corner. A modern fire pit was off to the side, and lights lit up the entire place. He slowly walked through the crowd of people outside, ignoring the whispering and the murmuring as guests noticed that the school celebrity was attending the party.

Then he saw her.

She was sitting on the edge of the pool by herself with her legs in the water. Sometimes it paid to be as popular as Nami was. Often times, many other students would be too intimidated to come up to her. This was one of those times. Everyone else gave her enough room to sit by herself, for it looked like she needed it.

"Is this seat taken?" Luffy asked gently, sitting down beside Nami.

Nami raised an eyebrow and smiled. "And yet, you sit down anyway."

Taken aback, Luffy started backpedaling. "Uh n-no, I just meant...I mean, what I was trying to do was-"

Nami just laughed softly and Luffy noticed just how bubbly and infectious her laugh was. He relaxed a bit and grinned. "Is the water warm?"

Nami moved her feet slowly through the water. "It's not so bad once you get used to it."

Luffy rolled up his black skinny jeans and dipped his toes in, followed by his feet and then legs. He smiled again. "So how were cheerleading tryouts?"

Nami ignored his question, and instead asked one of her own. "How do you do it?"

Luffy looked puzzled. "How do I do what?"

"You know, act so cheerful and happy all the time. Like nothing fazes you."

Luffy was silent for a while, moving his feet to the now accustomed water. He looked down at his feet. "Plenty of things faze me. I don't like talking about it but apparently I beat up the toughest kid in school. I didn't know he was the toughest, all I knew was that I don't like bullies. I just...don't really let all that get to me. Life's too short to live in constant stress, wouldn't you say?" Luffy grinned once more. "So I guess you could say that people like him faze me."

Now it was Nami's turn to fall silent. What he was saying wasn't anything new. It made sense, it was obvious almost. And yet, coming from his mouth, the words seemed refreshing. They seemed...new and real and honest. Nami saw him still smiling and blushed a little, making Luffy look away and turn a slight shade of red also. She looked down. "People like him faze me also."

"People like Bellamy." Luffy commented.

Nami looked up and Luffy could see a twinge of fear in her eyes. "People like Bellamy." She repeated.

Luffy looked into her eyes. "What did he do, Nami?"

Nami sighed. "He and I were in a relationship for a few months last year. He was the star of the football team, I wanted to be a cheerleader, I wanted to be popular, I wanted to be known. He was the most popular guy at school. I was young and dumb and just wanted to _be_ somebody. He hardly noticed me, but when I made it to being captain of cheer, suddenly I was catching his eye. Being the naive girl that I was, I was all over the attention. And...finally...we were a thing. But then...the attention just left. He didn't really care about me, he cared about the image of us together. And so...I broke up with him. He didn't take it very well but I didn't care. I was popular, I was known, I was...someone. But not with him."

Luffy just nodded. "And tonight?"

The flash of fear returned in Nami's eyes. "Tonight...he...wanted to get back together. I knew he did, too...I just, wanted to drive the point home. Maybe a part of me still sympathized with him? I don't know...but he didn't...react well. He...hit me and..."

Nami stopped in her tracks. The raven-haired boy next to her had stood up and she felt something light touch the top of her head. She moved a hand up and felt a familiar texture. Straw. She placed a hand on the top of the straw hat and her eyes widened.

"Take care of my hat for me, I'm going to talk to Bellamy."

Nami just sat still, one hand still gripping the hat that was on her head. She watched as Luffy walked back into the house, his dark hair covering his eyes. She smiled softly at the conversation they just had. _Luffy_ , she thought to herself, _you're really something special_.

The party was still going strong as Luffy walked through the halls of the large house. He followed the sounds of obnoxious yelling and laughing until he came to the bar. At the counter was Bellamy, surrounded by guests, all brown-nosing him to get his attention and praise. Luffy walked up to the group and sat down at the bar.

"Luffy! How's the party?"

"Gotta say, it's not bad."

Bellamy grinned. "What can I say? Do I know how to throw a party or what?" He gestured to the crowd and the guests roared in approval. He made eye contact with the guy who informed him of Luffy's arrival. "Hey, so Luffy, mind if we have a chat?" Bellamy asked.

Luffy raised his eyebrows. "Sure, no problem. Lead the way."

Bellamy and his gaggle of followers lead Luffy down the kitchen into the basement. One of Bellamy's friends shut the door as the group traveled down the stairs. Bellamy switched on the light to reveal a pool table, cues, and a mini bar. He sat at the edge of the table and addressed Luffy.

"Listen, Luffy. Everyone in the entire school knows about your little incident with Crocodile on the first day."

Luffy stayed silent, maintaining eye contact with Bellamy.

Bellamy got up and walked towards Luffy, their faces only an inch apart. "You might think you're some kind of big shot now, but I need you to understand something. Don't let it get to your head. Crocodile may have been tough, but people actually like me. You do anything to jeopardize my position, and we'll have some trouble between us."

Luffy closed his eyes and breathed deeply before opening them to pierce Bellamy's threatening gaze. "Bellamy. I don't like you. That much is pretty clear. We don't have any history, I just don't like you. But," he continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, "if you _ever_ touch Nami again - if you so much as whistle in her direction - I will not hesitate to show you what I did to Crocodile."

Bellamy's eyes widened in fear, sending his friends in a frenzy as they grabbed Luffy's arms and shoved him against the wall.

"Listen you little strawhat bitch! I'm only going to say this once. Nami doesn't have anything to do with _us_. You came to _my_ school and started showing off. What makes you think Nami would even _look_ in your direction?" He spat in Luffy's face.

Luffy however, stayed perfectly still, his eyes showed no emotions, which served only to rile up Bellamy more.

"Huh? Answer me you prick! Just because you had one _fluke_ with Crocodile doesn't make you the king of the world."

Luffy leaned forward, his voice dropping threateningly low. "Since you're having trouble hearing what I said, I'll repeat it, just for you. If you ever, _ever_ , touch Nami again, I will. not. hesitate." He cocked his head. "Understand?"

Bellamy was sweating, his body shivering slightly. _Who the fuck is this kid? Why is he such a pain in the ass?_

"Let him go guys, he's not going to hurt anyone. Go ahead and head back up, while you're at it. I just want to talk to Luffy here privately."

Luffy was dropped to the ground with a hard shove as Bellamy's friends left the two young men alone. The silence in the room was only disturbed by the dull thumps coming from the music above. Periodic cheers shattered the rhythmic thumping as guests started getting rowdy. Luffy stood across from Bellamy, his hands in his pockets. He looked relaxed and calm, apart from his face which projected an air of unwavering confidence, a confidence that made Bellamy uneasy. He began to open his mouth to say something mildly intimidating but couldn't.

In a flash of blinding speed, Luffy's fist had connected with Bellamy's face. Bellamy had no time to react before he was on the ground and bleeding profusely from his nose. Luffy walked towards Bellamy, his hands in his pockets once more. Bellamy started inching backwards, his entire body filled with fear now. He eventually reached a wall and hurriedly scrambled up to stand in an attempt to somehow get as far away from Luffy as possible.

Luffy kneeled so that he was looking Bellamy dead in the eyes. "That was for Nami, you sad, pathetic excuse for a man." He stood back up and kneed Bellamy in his broken nose in another flash of speed. "And that was for spitting in my face."

Bellamy clutched his face as more and more blood flowed down from his nose, mixing with salty tears. Luffy walked back up to the kitchen and shut the door to the basement after him, leaving Bellamy alone to wallow in his fear, pain, and embarrassment by himself.

Luffy walked back to the backyard and saw Nami still in the same spot, his strawhat still on her head. He smiled, it looked good on her, it suited her.

"You know, if you keep sitting here by yourself, people are going to think you're a weirdo." He said, sitting down beside her with a grin.

Nami smirked. "What, you would know?"

Luffy just laughed, prompting Nami to join him. The two laughed together for a moment, simply embracing the comfort of each other's company and the ease with which they could converse and act.

Nami looked down and saw Luffy's hand. It was bruised from punching Bellamy in the face. "Oh shit, you're hurt!"

Luffy hadn't even noticed until she pointed it out. He looked down at his bruised hand and sighed. "Damn, didn't think I hit him _that_ hard."

Nami knew what he meant, but she didn't press him on the matter. For her, a wave of relief washed over her as she realized that Bellamy wouldn't exactly be an issue anymore. At least, judging by the state of Luffy's hand, not for a long time. Unconsciously she held his hand in her own, causing both of them to sit in silence for a second before blushing and looking away, Luffy dipping his hand in the pool.

"It looks good on you." He said simply. "The hat I mean. I mean, not that the rest of your clothes look bad, they look good on you too, I just meant that my hat...uh, looked good...too." He added.

Nami laughed her same bubbly laugh and held out his hat to him. "It looks better on you, though." She said with a smile.

Luffy reached for his hat, his fingers brushing against hers, and placed it on his head. He missed the comfort it provided him. He grinned and pulled his hand out of the pool. "Do you want a drink?"

Nami breathed a deep sigh. "I could go for a drink, yeah."

Luffy hopped up and helped Nami to her feet. The night was starting to die down. People were beginning to leave and the amount of people passed out on the floor was beginning to increase. The two walked towards the bar, where they met with Sanji, Vivi, Zoro, Robin, and Chopper.

Zoro, now completely piss drunk, was the first to greet them. "Looooofy! Dere you are! Hey, hey, 'ave you met Robin?" He asked, completely unaware that she was standing beside him, giggling to herself. "She's A-MAZING!"

Luffy laughed. "Damn Zoro! You can really hold it in! How many drinks has he had, Chopper?"

Chopper was drunk, but not as much as Zoro. "Uhhhh...I lost track after 8..."

"Damn!" Luffy exclaimed again. He turned his attention towards the dark-haired girl whom Zoro was referring to. "I guess you're Robin, nice to meet you."

"Likewise, I like your hat."

Luffy placed a hand on his hat. "Thanks! It was a gift. My-"

Zoro interrupted him. "But wait a minute...wherez the other kid that...who...was with you?"

Vivi looked worryingly at Nami but saw that she was as cool and collected as ever. She didn't know what happened between her and Bellamy, but she knew that whatever it was, she had gotten the better of it.

Luffy smiled. "Come on, I think you're done for the night, moss-head."

"HEY! Whoz you callin' moss 'ead?" The group laughed as Zoro struggled to stand up and walk towards the door. "Come on! You guys are gonna be left _beeeehind_!"

Robin caught up to him and draped his arm over her shoulder. "Chopper, would you mind helping me get him back safely?"

Chopper hopped to his feet. "Not at all!"

Robin smiled. "I'll catch you guys tomorrow! Don't worry about him, I'm sure he's fine."

Nami and Vivi waved goodbye as Sanji grabbed Vivi's coat. "So," he said, scratching his head, "do you, uh, want to head back to my place?"

Vivi almost fainted at the invitation. But before she could scream, Nami gently squeezed her arm, making her regain her composure. "Yeah, sure, totally." She said cooly. The two said goodbye to Luffy and Nami before heading out.

Luffy looked around the house at the dying party. "I don't know about you, but as much as I'd love to spend my entire night here, it's getting pretty out of hand."

Nami looked at the people passed out around them. She could hear the sounds of people throwing up, and the music had stopped. She chuckled. "No, I'm with you on that one. I think it's time to call it a night."

"Let's head out?"

Nami nodded. "Time to head out."

The two walked back in the silence of night. Clouds moved in front of a moon that was not quite full, causing the shadows around the two to dance. As Luffy and Nami walked back, the awkwardness between them that was so often present dwindled away and was replaced by a feeling of comfort and ease. As they laughed and joked, the two found that they had reached Nami's place. They stood outside her door, Nami not wanting to go inside just yet, for she had gotten used to being around the raven-haired boy.

"So...tonight was fun, yeah?" Luffy awkwardly asked.

Nami smiled. "It was nice."

Luffy's eyes grew grim. "I'm sorry about what happened between you and Bellamy," he said, "what he did was unbelievably wrong."

Nami sighed. "It's okay. I never should have even gone with him to talk."

"It wasn't your fault, it never was."

Nami's smile returned. "Thanks, Luffy. Sorry about your hand though."

Luffy grinned and held up his hand. "Nah, don't worry about it! It's not broken, so I'll take this as a win."

Nami laughed her bubbly laugh and Luffy couldn't help but turn a slight shade of red as he remembered how much he loved that laugh. Nami noticed and turned a slight shade of red herself, and the two looked down at the floor awkwardly.

"You better get some ice on that hand of yours."

Luffy shrugged innocently. "Got it, doc."

Nami raised an eyebrow and chuckled. Then, without warning, she leaned in and gave Luffy a soft kiss on his cheek. "But until then, here's something to help you right away," she whispered. "Goodnight Luffy, I'll see you tomorrow." She grinned and winked before going in her dorm, leaving Luffy outside alone, his eyes wide and his face deep red. Slowly, he turned around and leaned back, his back on Nami's door. He looked up to the ceiling and grinned. His heart was beating fast and his cheek still felt electrifying from where Nami had kissed him.

On the inside, Nami stood with her back to the door. She looked down at her feet and closed her eyes, smiling wide as she thought about her heart racing when she gave Luffy that small kiss. Placing a hand over her heart, her smile grew as she felt that it was still racing just as fast.

 _Nami..._ Luffy thought.

 _Luffy..._ Nami thought.

 _You're really something special._


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.

East Blue Academy was alive with whispers and murmurs. Students walked the halls, whispering to each other about what they thought happened at Bellamy's party. Each time the story was passed to another student, another detail was added. In reality, nobody knew what happened apart from Bellamy's lackeys, whose lips were sealed in fear of what Luffy would do to them.

The raven-haired boy was sitting outside on the grass, still thinking about the light kiss Nami had given him on his cheek. His straw hat fluttered on his head as a small breeze ruffled his strands of hair underneath. An opened textbook lay by his side, ignored as Luffy thought of the feeling. His thoughts were interrupted, however, as a high pitched voice called his name.

"Luffy!"

He turned his head to see the most popular girl at East Blue Academy walking his way. He stood up. "Hancock, what's up?"

Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, making the students around them gasp and whisper. They both ignored the attention. Releasing him, Hancock smirked. "I know what happened at Bellamy's."

"You were there?"

Hancock laughed. "Oh no, I don't usually go to small house parties, they're not my style."

Luffy raised an eyebrow. "I see," he said.

Hancock grinned again, noticing Luffy's response. "You should come party with me sometime, I go to a place in the city, it's super exclusive."

"So how do _you_ get in?"

Hancock's grin turned into a coy smile as she ran a hand through her hair. "Pretty girls get in for free." Her voice dropped to a sultry whisper. "And so do their dates."

"Yeah...uh, I'll think about it."

Hancock's eyebrow twitched. She wasn't used to rejection. Did this new kid not know who she was? But she concealed it just as fast as it had arised. "Here, I'll give you my number," she said, taking his hand and pulling out a pen. She jotted down her number on the boy's palm followed by a heart. She winked as she put the pen away. "Let's keep in touch, Luffy. I'm very intrigued to know more about you."

Before Luffy could say anything, she was walking away, her slender legs carrying her as if on a runway. He looked down at his palm at Hancock's number before putting his hands in his pockets. He sighed deeply and blew a strand of hair out of his face. Packing his things, he realized that he hadn't even gotten Nami's number yet. Laughing at the thought of it, Luffy walked past the theatre district. He had never been here before, but the place was alive with energy.

He always had a soft spot for theatre. As a child, he spent his days pretending he was a secret agent, a superhero, and most often, a pirate. Something about the golden age of piracy fascinated him. After all, that's what theatre was, just pretending on a higher level. He came across a large board of posters showcasing upcoming auditions and shows. His eyes scanned the board and fell on a certain poster that had a skinny boy with a long nose holding a skull in one hand. Luffy immediately knew what it was. Hamlet, a Shakespearean play, and one of his favorites.

An idea crept into his head as he saw the performance dates. There was one tomorrow. Luffy's brow ruffled as he bit his lip, contemplating the idea. It had been years since he had been to the theatre, and here was a perfect opportunity. He stood in front of the poster and breathed deeply before ripping the poster off the wall and tucking it into his bag. With the same confidence as anything else he did, Luffy walked to find a certain someone.

"No way!" Vivi screamed. "Tell me more!"

Nami was sitting on her bed in her dorm, Robin and Vivi across from her. Vivi was completely enthralled in the conversation while Robin simply smiled genuinely.

"Well...he just walked me home and that was when I did it." Nami shrugged, her cheeks slightly red at the memory.

Vivi was squealing in delight. "And what did he do?"

"Mmm...nothing really, he looked pretty surprised, it was just a...in the moment thing. It was just a little one on the cheek."

Vivi was silent and grinned. "So...you gonna make the first move or you gonna play hard to get?"

Nami laughed. "I'll tell you after class, I'm gonna be late otherwise!" She grabbed her bag and ran out of the room before Vivi could protest.

"You're just smiling, Robin! Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I am, but I already knew Nami liked him."

"Already knew? She told you?"

"Nope, I could just tell." Robin smiled again.

Vivi laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. "I wonder what happened at that party. Nami's refused to tell us anything. She acted so differently, I was worried."

Robin turned a page in her book. "Something tells me it had something to do with Luffy."

"You think so?"

"Of course, why else would she suddenly kiss him out of the blue?"

Vivi sighed. "I guess so, but there's something else...something serious happened at the party, and whatever it was really shook her...she hasn't said anything so I think-". Vivi was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Robin closed her book and got up, opening the door and revealing a straw hat. "Luffy, how are you?" She opened the door to let Luffy in.

Luffy grinned. "Can't complain," he replied, walking into the room and sitting down on a desk. He looked around. "So Nami's at class?"

"Yeah, she left a while ago, why?" Vivi asked, hiding her excitement that the boy whom her best friend had kissed was right here.

Luffy unzipped his bag and took out the poster he grabbed earlier. "I uh...I was actually gonna ask if she wanted to go see Hamlet with me tomorrow."

Vivi squealed. "OHMYGODTHATWOULDBESOCUTE!"

Robin chuckled. "That _would_ be a very nice date. I'm sure Nami would love it." She looked at Vivi. "It would certainly get her back to normal."

Vivi nodded, her tone shifting to that of concern now. "Yeah, you're right."

Luffy lowered his eyebrows in interest. "Wait, what do you mean, 'back to normal'?"

"I'm not sure...every since the party, she'd been acting differently. I think something happened that night."

Luffy's eyes grew dead serious. "Something did happen."

"What?"

"Something did happen at the party. At least, I'm pretty sure something did."

"What happened?" Robin questioned.

"I think that Bellamy tried to take advantage of Nami." Luffy spoke clearly and slowly.

Vivi and Robin both gasped slightly. "Are...you serious?" Vivi asked.

Luffy looked down at the ground, his voice dropped to a low whisper. "I think so. She had trouble talking to me about Bellamy that night, and from the way she as acting, I got the impression that he either tried to do something, or actually did it."

Robin's hand covered her mouth and Vivi sat down on her bed. "No wonder she didn't say anything...anything at all...of course, I don't blame her…"

"And you're saying that she's still pretty shaken up about it?" Luffy asked, concerningly.

Robin nodded. "She's definitely different, but she's strong. She wouldn't let this get her down. That's why I think a change of pace would do her some good. Maybe going out to the theatre with you will give her the change of pace she needs."

Luffy began rolling up the poster but Vivi stopped him. "Hey, what's that on your hand?"

"Hmm? Oh, Hancock gave me her number earlier today. She wrote it down on my hand." He held it up for the girls to see.

Vivi's face twisted into one of disgust. "Figures she'd try and nab the guy who's stirring up the whole school."

"You don't like her?"

Vivi looked up at Luffy. "I don't. She's spoiled, bitchy, high maintenance, manipulative, and such a diva. But everyone at this school adores her - she's the most popular person here."

"Apart from you girls," Luffy interrupted.

Robin shook her head. "I'm afraid Vivi's right - Hancock is in a league of her own."

Luffy leaned back on his arms as he looked up at the ceiling. All this talk of Hancock he couldn't care less about. But the fact that Nami had not been herself made his heart sink. He blew a strand of hair out of his face and looked at the number written on his hand. He chuckled as he thought of the fact that he still hadn't gotten Nami's number.

"What's so funny?" Vivi asked.

Luffy looked up and light small appeared on his face. "I was just thinking about how I haven't gotten Nami's number."

"Well what are you waiting for! Get out of here!" She winked at him before shutting the door.

Luffy's smile grew wider as he hoisted his bag over his shoulder and adjusted his straw hat. With a skip in his step, he went to find Nami in the halls of East Blue Academy.

The main hall of East Blue Academy was the centerpiece of the school. It's vast space was filled with desks and its walls were lined with books. Couches and coffee tables dotted the corners, inviting anyone with even a few short minutes to lose track of time in their comfort. Some students studied away while others tried their best not to fall asleep. The stained carpets smelled of coffee stains and the chandeliers had looked like they had seen better days.

Nevertheless, it was a place of grandeur, and Luffy could not help but gasp slightly as he opened the large wooden doors to the main hall. It was nearly dark when he arrived and, having no luck finding Nami, decided to look in the one place left.

The other students immediately dropped to a whisper when he walked by, gossiping about the mysteries of the young raven-haired boy. Luffy, as always, ignored them and scanned the hall for the familiar sight of that flaming head of hair.

He walked along the isles of books ranging on astronomy to potion brewing. He raised an eyebrow at that. _When was the last time anyone brewed a potion?_ He asked himself in his head. His fingers grazed the spines of the books as he continued looking. He reached the end of the main hall and looked towards the front, where he had entered.

Nothing.

With a sigh, Luffy walked back out of the main hall. "I should check her room again…" he muttered to himself, as he closed the large wooden doors behind him.

He took no more than ten steps before he rounded a corner and fell flat on the floor. In a daze he sat up. "Seriously, we _need_ to stop meeting like this."

Luffy blinked twice. He recognized that voice. He looked up and saw Nami's outstretched hand. She was smiling softly, her brown eyes glistening.

Luffy grinned and adjusted his hat before taking Nami's hand and hopping back on his feet. "I guess you're right, if this keeps up, I'll end up in the hospital for a concussion."

"Doesn't sound all bad...there'd be no schoolwork."

Luffy laughed and shrugged. "There is that."

The two stood awkwardly. Luffy scratching his head and Nami scratching her arm.

"So-" the two of them said together.

Nami laughed. "You first."

Luffy reached into his bag and pulled out the poster for Hamlet. "Well...ah...I was wondering if you wanted to go see Hamlet tomorrow night."

Nami's heart got caught in her throat as she forced herself not to reply immediately. "Yeah sure, I love the theatre!"

Luffy breathed a sigh of relief. "Great! Wait, just to be clear, I meant...with me...like, going to see Hamlet with me."

Nami laughed again and Luffy couldn't help but feel at ease. "Yeah, I know what you meant. I'd be happy to go with you."

Luffy grinned. "So I'll uh...see you tomorrow at like 7?"

Nami reached into her pocket and took out her phone. "Sounds like a plan, let's exchange phone numbers so we can stay in touch."

Luffy nodded and the two exchanged phone numbers, careful to not let Nami see Hancock's phone number on his hand. When finished, Luffy waved goodbye to Nami and walked back to his apartment, his phone in hand the entire way and a wide smile stretched across his face.

As he climbed the stairs to his apartment, Luffy stopped at his door. Or, what would have been his door. Instead, the doorway to his apartment was swung open. Luffy could see upturned furniture and spray paint on the walls.

"GET OUT FILTHY STRAWHAT."

As he slowly walked into his apartment, something crunched beneath his feet. Luffy looked down to see broken pieces of glass scattered on his floor, from a picture of his family that used to be by his bed. He bent down to pick up what was left of the picture and trembled as he looked into the eyes of his mother, father, and brother. Drops of tears fell onto the picture as Luffy shook.

That night, Luffy cried in silence.


End file.
